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Friday, April 30, 2010

From the early 1600s onward, Catholic missionaries of various affiliations were present in Vietnam, though on a small scale and only in the lowlands.

Near the end of that century, a papal intervention gave the evangelisation of the northeast portion of Tonkin--covering roughly one-third of the region--to Spanish Dominicans based in Manila, whilst the Societe des Missions Etrangeres de Paris (MEP) was given the remaining two-thirds.

La Société des Missions Etrangères de Paris (the Paris Foreign Missions Society) (MEP) was established 1658-63. It was one of the main societies for the conversion of Vietnam.

Thousands of Catholic priests, religious and laity in Vietnam who were killed between 1625 and 1886 for their faith

Fr. Schoeffler was one. Following his arrest in the Tonkin, he was invited to renounce his Christian faith and to trample upon the Lord’s cross. When he refused, he was sentenced to death.

The sentence of death, written on a board and planted into the ground before him, read: “In spite of the prohibitions of the religion of Jesus, Augustin, a European priest, has dared to come by stealth into the kingdom to preach that religion and to deceive the people. He is condemned to be beheaded and his head to be thrown into the water.”

He died on 1st May which is his feast day.

In Lent 1849 he wrote the following in a letter to M. Auguste Verrier who was then wishing tobecome a seminarian at the Paris seminary:

On September 24, 1857, Augustin Schoeffler was declared Venerable by Pope Pius IX. He was beatified by Pope Leo XIII on May 7, 1900. He was made a saint by Pope John Paul II on June 19, 1988.

St Thérèse of Lisieux was inspired by the martyrs of Vietnam. She was given a copy of the Life and letters of Venerable Théophane Vénard, ( 1829 - 1861) a priest of the Paris Foreign Missionary Society, who had been martyred in Vietnam some years previously.

She was inspired by his example to volunteer for the new Carmelite monastery in Hanoi. She carried on a correspondence with Carmelite sisters at Hanoi, Vietnam. They wished her to come out and join them. But her health did not allow her to go before her death at an early age.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Bishops have had a fair knocking recently. The media in the child abuse crisis while mainly slandering the Pope has not been very kind towards Bishops in general.

Many think that the Pope should react fiercely against them if they have not been up to the mark in dealing with pedophile priests.

In addition many commentators have been quite hard on them in regard to other issues. Why have`nt they been more vocal in criticising X, Y or Z or in relation to A, B or C?

They experience pressure from below: the clerics and the religious as well as the laity. They also experience pressure from the top down. The Vatican Curia is not often slow to make its views known on certain occasions.

At the end of the day, they have the sole responsibility for matters within a certain territorial jurisdiction. The Buck stops firmly with them in this world and more so in the Next.

They are expected to be men of unassailable character.

“1 The saying is sure: whoever aspires to the office of bishop desires a noble task. 2 Now a bishop must be above reproach, married only once, temperate, sensible, respectable, hospitable, an apt teacher, 3 not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, and not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own household well, keeping his children submissive and respectful in every way— 5 for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how can he take care of God's church? 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may be puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7 Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace and the snare of the devil”

1 Timothy 3:1-7 (New Revised Standard)

“7 For a bishop, as God's steward, must be blameless; he must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or addicted to wine or violent or greedy for gain; 8 but he must be hospitable, a lover of goodness, prudent, upright, devout, and self-controlled. 9 He must have a firm grasp of the word that is trustworthy in accordance with the teaching, so that he may be able both to preach with sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict it.”

Titus 1:7-9 (New Revised Standard)

“The shepherds of the flock ought to carry out their ministry [as Bishop] with holiness, eagerness, humility and courage in imitation of the eternal High Priest, the Shepherd and Guardian of our Souls. They will thereby make this ministry the principal means of their own sanctification. Those chosen for the fullness of the priesthood are gifted with sacramental grace, enabling them to exercise a perfect role of pastoral charity through prayer, sacrifice and preaching, as through every form of a Bishop’s care and service. They are enabled to lay down their life for their sheep fearlessly, and, made a model for their flock (cf. 1 Pt 5:3), can lead the Church to ever-increasing holiness through their own example.”

Presumably bishops-to-be are not allowed to read the Exhortation and only get to read this after Episcopal Ordination when they do the induction course for new Bishops in the Vatican. Otherwise very few would want or agree to become a bishop.

Society`s attitude in general in respect of many matters is carping and often critical to the point of caricature. The same applies to the Church. With greater education and communications in the West, one might expect greater tolerance and less opportunity for misunderstanding. However the opposite often appears to be the case.

It is easier to run with the pack than to defend and explain, to attempt to hold the pack back. Is there also the thought that if the mob are attacking A or B, then at least they are not attacking me? It is of course a more pleasant sensation to be attacking someone for someone`s alleged faults as it does give one`s own regard for oneself a boost.

Sometimes reputations take a great deal of time to be salvaged after being unfairly torn to bits.

Self-defence is often useless and counter-productive. As a bishop one cannot of course succumb to despair. And one has to turn the other cheek. Oh, and one has to behave like a loving father towards his children and exercise all the virtues. And yes, they must constantly smile. Otherwise they are not filled with Christian joy and one would not be a good bishop. As a doctor falling ill might regard or feel that there is a sense of failure, likewise a bishop who sins is regarded as falling short of the mark.

And does one really one expect a bishop or a Conference to be on twenty four hour call to provide a running commentary on all current events of the day ?

Of course there have been bad bishops and probably there are one or two bad `uns knocking about at the present time. In the `bad` league one might think of the Italian bishop who does not appear to have been very nice at times to Saint Padre Pio

From the way some commentators write or speak one might think that we are not blessed. I seem to recall that when the saintly Cardinal Hume was Archbishop of Westminster, there were a number of voices who were quite critical of him.

Silence and suffering in the face of criticism must be an Episcopal vow at Episcopal ordination.

One outstanding example of a good bishop from the Catholic Episcopate is the former Cardinal Archbishop of Milan, Blessed Carlo Andrea Ferrari (13 August 1850 - 2 February 1921) who was Archbishop of Milan at the beginning of the twentieth century until his death.

He came from humble stock near Parma where he was first educated in the seminary there. He was ordained there. He became Professor and Rector of the seminary there until his elevation. His memory is of course celebrated with a fine marble statue in the Cathedral in Parma. (see above)

He was appointed to the Episcopate at the very early age of forty years by Pope Leo XIII. He seems to have been highly regarded by the elderly Pope. The feeling was mutual. In particular the Bishop took to heart the Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII for which he is probably best known: Rerum Novarum – The Rights and Duties of Capital and Labour (May 15, 1891).

As a Bishop in the Northern Italian city of Como at the close of the Nineteenth century, he would have been well aware of the conflicts engendered not only by the industrialisation of Northern Italy but also the lack of political power of most of his flock. This lack of political power arose not only from the estrangement of the State and Church after the Re-Unification of Italy but also from the lack of democratic institutions in the new Italian State. In his diocese, there were riots and disorder, killings and serious woundings.

The words of the Encyclical faced the challenges which the Bishop was to face in his first diocese but also later in the Archdiocese of Milan, the second most important diocese after Rome and the most industrial and populous area in the entire Kingdom of Italy.

“The great mistake made in regard to the matter now under consideration is to take up with the notion that class is naturally hostile to class, and that the wealthy and the working men are intended by nature to live in mutual conflict. So irrational and so false is this view that the direct contrary is the truth. Just as the symmetry of the human frame is the result of the suitable arrangement of the different parts of the body, so in a State is it ordained by nature that these two classes should dwell in harmony and agreement, so as to maintain the balance of the body politic.

Each needs the other: capital cannot do without labor, nor labor without capital. Mutual agreement results in the beauty of good order, while perpetual conflict necessarily produces confusion and savage barbarity. Now, in preventing such strife as this, and in uprooting it, the efficacy of Christian institutions is marvellous and manifold. First of all, there is no intermediary more powerful than religion (whereof the Church is the interpreter and guardian) in drawing the rich and the working class together, by reminding each of its duties to the other, and especially of the obligations of justice.” Rerum Novarum, paragraph 19

In May 1894 he was raised to the Cardinalate and that year also transferred to the Archdiocese of Milan where he stayed until his death,

Fin-de-siecle Milan was a place of turbulent change. The political unification of Italy led to the commercial dominance of Milan over northern Italy. Milan became the rail hub of northern Italy. Rapid industrialization and the rise and growth of Milanese banks led to economic growth at a “Chinese rate” and brought a rapid expansion in the city's area and population.

The atmosphere can be illustrated by the Bava-Beccaris massacre of May 1898 in Milan. After a riot following a strike at the Pirelli factory instigated by the Socialist Turatti, which was severely put down with the loss of life and many injured, workers organized a General Strike (“ Protesta dello stomaco" ) to demonstrate against the government of di Rudinì, holding it responsible for the general increase of prices and for the famine that was affecting the country.

The government declared a state of siege in the city. General Bava-Beccaris (later to be called il macellaio di Milano, the butcher of Milan) ordered his troops to fire on demonstrators. On May 9, 1898, the troops used artillery to breach the walls of a monastery outside Porta Monforte, but they found inside only a group of beggars who had come to receive assistance from the friars. According to the government, there were 118 dead and 450 wounded. The opposition claimed 350 dead and more than 2,000 injured people. About 2000 were arrested.

Discord prevailed.

The Rudini government fell in 1898. In July 1900 King Umbert I was assassinated by an anarchist at Monza near Milan. The anarchist cited the massacre and the subsequent decoration of Bava-Beccaris by the King as the reasons for the assassination.

However the Cardinal did not have a “good crisis”. On the advice of his assistants he left the city to go on a pastoral visit to pieve di Asso (Como). This was described as his “fleeing the city” by the secular press which supported the Government and the radicals.

Pope Leo XIII felt it appropriate to issue an admonition. He wrote to the Archbishop:

It was probably his lowest moment. He accepted the criticism in silence.

He vowed that in future he would be more vigilant in protecting his flock.

It is how men deal with great setbacks in their careers and with personal humiliation that is the great marker as to the personality of the man.

Not many could be like Archbishop Georges Darboy of Paris (16 January 1813 – 24 May 1871) who stayed in Paris during the Comune and was seized, imprisoned and slaughtered. If anything what had happened to Darboy during the Commune would have been reason enough to flee Milan in 1898 when it seemed that some were intent on establishing another Comune there and then.

Some fold and never recover.

Criticism can be severe. As we have seen recently. Often heads on a large scale are demanded. Public opinion often requires blood to be sated. Sometime however a sacrifice of blood merely increases the appetite for even more blood.

Some however accept the verdict, repent and renew their resolve. They are transformed. That is what seems to have happened to Archbishop Ferrari.

He set up "Cappellani del lavoro", cooperatives in the fields of industry and agriculture, mutual self help societies and rural banks. He also set up institutes for the improvement of housing for workers especially in the cities.

In the Press, he set up a Catholic publishing company as well as a Catholic newspaper "L'Unione", which eventually became "L'Italia". (This eventually became the Italian Bishops newspaper “L`Avvenire”)

As a Bishop he continued his visitations and by the end of his Ministry had carried out four visitations of the enormous Archdiocese, visiting each of the 800 parishes and other institutes in his purview. At the time the Archdiocese had 1.600.000 inhabitants, 2.300 priests and 11.000 women religious.

On becoming Archbishop, he took the name “Carlo” after his model, St Charles Borromeo.

His secretary Don Giovanni Rossi, said of him that he never saw him idle for a moment: he was either praying, writing or talking.”

His motto was “Do many things and do them well.”

He never tired of repeating:

"Se volete conquistare il cuore del popolo amate i fanciulli, i vecchi, gli ammalati, i poveri" (“If you wish to conquer the heart of the people, love the children, the old, the sick, the poor.”)

To those who complained about the iniquities of the times, he replied “Moaning is useless ! One should always do, do, do !” or “From each wrong comes the opportunity for good".

Blessed Ildefonso Schuster, a late successor as Archbishop of Milan described his work thus:

It was the burning heroic spirit striving towards God and the next world which turned round a disaster in his Ministry into such a resounding success.

The Cardinal in the Holy Land on pilgrimage 1902

In 1902, he made a pilgrimage to Palestine.It was the first time that an Italian cardinal had made a visit there. At that time the Holy Land was a French Protectorate. Accompanying him in the party was Don Giacomo Maria Radini Tedeschi, who three years later would become the Bishop of Bergamo and the great influence on the future Pope John XXIII.

The mission required a great deal of diplomatic skill so that sensibilitites would not be ruffled and there would not be a diplomatic incident.

The pilgrimage had a profound effect on the Archbishop spiritually. After a meeting in Jerusalem with the Orthodox Patriarch discussing the primacy of Peter for an hour, he confided in his diary:

In the conclave of 1903 after the death of Pope Leo XIII, he was “one of the main players”. His candidate was defeated. Saint Pius X was elected.

It was during this Pontificate that the Archbishop probably endured his severest test.

The problem was “Modernism” or “the Modernist Crisis”. It was a rather nebulous heresy. Even its sternest opponents seemed to find it difficult to define with sufficient precision. It assumed different forms in different places and at different times. Modernism in Italy was a different creature from that in France. But even today the charge of “Modernism” is not one which any Catholic would relish.

In Italy it would appear that the problem was complicated by the fact that ”modernists” were associated with the desire for increasing political involvement by the clergy and the laity in the secular sphere which had been denied them since 1870.

It would appear that Pope Pius X was advised by various sources such as Don Umberto Benigni that Archbishop Ferrari was either a Modernist or was soft on Modernism and was not doing enough to extirpate Modernism from his diocese. Relations between the Vatican and the Archdiocese nosedived.

Pope Pius X accused Milan of being the centre of “Modernism” His seminary received three Apostolic visitations. Anti-Modernist Catholic newspapers such as La Riscossa which was financed by the Vatican openly called the Cardinal “a Modernist” - probably the worst insult that could be hurled at a Cardinal in those days. The affair with the personal attacks on the Cardinal lasted about five years.

He was not a Modernist. He was perfectly orthodox. He protested in private to the Pope his loyalty and fidelity.

There were two main issues. First a certain number of Modernist priests were in the diocese. The Cardinal cracked down on them and restricted their activities. Second, the Milanese Catholic press. The Cardinal imposed corrections and some restrictions. But these did not appear to be sufficient measures.

On 9th March 1908, the Archbishop wrote a handwritten letter to the Pope abasing himself before him and explaining what he had done in obedience. Not only in regard to certain priests especially those in the Barnabite Order (which in those days were under particular suspicion of Modernism) and in regard to catholic publications in Milan. Even after all these years one is touched by the tone and emotion underlying it. He is not defending himself. He is defending his diocese and his flock. It is a poignant testimony to his feelings for his Diocese.

You will note the interesting reference to a Monsignore Ratti of the Ambrosiana who later became Prefect of the Vatican Library, then Archbishop of Milan and later Pope Pius XI:

The situation got worse. Partisan supporters on both sides seemed to fan the flames. Small incidents could aggravate such as the incident involving offhand remarks of the Cardinal in a Seminary one Good Friday about Catholic newspapers in his diocese. The cardinal wanted to correct errors in the newspapers. The Vatican wanted to suppress the newspapers. He told his clerics: “In the matter of the newspapers, always be in agreement with your Bishop and you will be in agreement with the Pope. ... You will never go wrong.” These remarks were reported back (after the appropriate “spin”) to the Vatican. A fierce reaction followed.

Some suggested that the Cardinal go to Rome and resign his cardinalate in protest. This was never an option. Obedience to the Pope was paramount. He retorted:

It was the First World War which provided the greatest test for the Archbishop and he showed his mettle. Italy joined the War late in 1915 after being wooed by the Allies and also the German-Austrian Alliance. It entered the Allied side. Milan was in the forefront of the Italian war effort. He put the Church towork and dispelled any prejudices that the Church was not patriotic. The Church`s work in the aid of orphans, widows, displaced persons and families, soldiers, prisoners and others was never forgotten.

The foundation for good works which he instituted is now the Compagnia di San Paolo, also called the Opera Cardinal Ferrari. It still exists and thrives. It was an early Apostolate of its type.

It was he who was responsible for L`Azione Cattolica which spread throughout Italy.

At the end, he signed the papers for the foundation of Università Cattolica in Milan which is still going strong and is one of the major learning institutions in the city.

The qualities which first attracted the attention of Pope Leo XIII and later came to be belatedly admired by Saint Pope Pius X were recognised by Pope Benedict XV, the successor of Pope Pius X.

But it was nearer home that his qualities were recognised. His qualities were fully recognised by the clergy and people of Milan who flocked to his funeral in droves in 1921.

The exposition of the Cardinal in a glass casket in Milan Cathedral

It was these qualities which led Pope John XXIII to speak his panegyric to him at the Vatican on 19th February 1961, the fortieth anniversary of the founding of the Company of St Paul and the passing of the Cardinal. After his ordination the young Angelo Roncalli saw the Cardinal about once a month. He knew him well. The influence of the cardinal on Monsignor Giacomo Maria Radini Tedeschi was strong and through him on the young priest.

And for another shorter appreciation of the Cardinal by Pope John XXIII see his speech on the Fiftieth anniversary of the newspapers Unione and L'Italia (the newspapers which had caused all the problems for the Cardinal during the Modernist Crisis)

The Telegraph has published on its website the full "Wish list" of the Memorandum compiled by the United Kingdom Foreign Office Team in preparation for the Pope`s visit to the United Kingdom in September 2010.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

There are exceptional drawings by Raphael and Michelangelo. Ten Leonardo da Vincis. Works by Botticelli and Uccello, Pollaiuolo Mantegna, Vivarini, Cima, Bellini, Carpaccio, Parri Spinelli from Arezzo and even Titian. Half the exhibits come from the British Museum’s own fine holdings, and the rest from the Uffizi gallery, in Florence, the world’s most bountiful store of Italian Renaissance treasures

The main figure is a study for Christ in the 'Resurrection' altarpiece painted for the Capponi chapel in the church of San Bartolomeo a Monteoliveto in Via Monte Oliveto, Florence, and now in the Galleria dell'Accademia in Florence

Study for the background of the 'Adoration of the Magi', about 1481, Metalpoint, pen and brown ink, brown wash, touches of lead white heightening, over stylus and compass incising, on cream preparation.

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Official Memorandum regarding the Pope`s visit to the United Kingdom in September 2010

Before the Pope`s visit to the United Kingdom in September, officials have to plan. It is, after all, a State Visit. However one does expect that since they are employed in the service of the State, they would approach the task with a degree of professionalism and not as if they are members of a fourth form secondary class. Regrettably it would appear that there may be some civil servants in rather high positions who have an extremely juvenile sense of humour and lack the professionalism for which the British civil service was always admired and respected.

The Sunday Telegraph has published official documents written by officials responsible for the British Government planning for the Papal visit. Considering that there are very delicate consideratons to be taken into account to ensure that the Visit is a success or at least does not pass with a serious incident, one would have expected that they would be of a very high quality. However ...

Amongst the documents are a memorandum (above) which ridiculed Church teaching on abortion and other matters

The suggestions for events for the pope`s visit included the Pope opening an abortion ward; spending the night in a council flat in Bradford; doing forward rolls with children to promote healthy living; and even performing a duet with the Queen; that the Pope should reverse the Church’s "policy on women bishops/ordain woman"; and that the Vatican should "sponsor a network of Aids clinics".

The Foreign Office issued a public apology after being approached by The Sunday Telegraph, while Francis Campbell, the UK ambassador to the Vatican, met senior officials of the Holy See to express the Government’s regret.

The "ideal visit" list was circulated within Whitehall by a junior Foreign Office official, an Oxbridge graduate in his 20s.

In an emailed memo dated March 5, headed "Policy planning ahead of the Pope’s visit", he invited senior colleagues to attend an "inter-faith meeting" the following week to discuss themes for the visit.

Attached to the memo were three "background documents", including the "ideal visit" list, which he said would form the basis of discussions. He added in the memo: "Please protect; these should not be shared externally. The ‘ideal visit’ paper in particular was the product of a brainstorm which took into account even the most far-fetched of ideas."

Recipients included Nicola Ware, a senior Foreign Office official, as well as officials at 10 Downing Street, the Department for International Development, and the Northern Ireland Office.

The exercise appears to have been intended to ensure a high impact for the papal visit and to identify areas such as development and climate change on which the Government and the Vatican could co-operate, but the list of ideas has caused offence.

Another of the three background documents, titled "Papal Visit Stakeholders", lists figures and groups that the officials consider significant to the tour, and ranks them in order of how "influential" and "positive" each one is perceived to be.

The Queen, David Cameron, and Tony Blair are all ranked as highly influential and positive. It rates Susan Boyle, the singer, as more influential than Vincent Nichols, the Archbishop of Westminster

It is of course a bit of fun gone wrong. It was not quite a brain storming session which was responsible as a complete mental collapse.

However one does wonder if there are some officials who would be quite happy to see the forthcoming Papal visit turn out to be a fiasco and are not really working to ensure that it will be successful. One hopes that this was simply one official going "off his rocker" and not a sign that the forthcoming visit is going to turn out to be a headache not only for the church but also for the British state.

He was buried in the Cappella Frangipane e Maddaleni-Capiferro near the High Altar of the Dominican Church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva in Rome. The Church also contains the tombs of many Florentines including two Florentine Popes.

Within his own lifetime Fra Angelico became known as ‘Il Beato’ Angelico due to his reputation and the reverence with which he painted religious subjects.

Although only beatified in 1982 by Pope John Paul II, the recognition of his piety by his contemporaries is seen in his tomb

As regards the depiction of Fra Angelico, reference is made to The Constitutions of the Order of Preachers, and preceding the revised edition of St. Raymond of Pennafort, 1241, the rule of the Observant Friars of which Fra Angelico was a member:

"The brethren shall not sleep on mattresses, unless they cannot obtain straw or something of that sort on which to sleep. They shall sleep dressed in tunic and shoes. It is lawful to sleep on straw, a woollen mat or sacking."

Fra Angelico is sleeping according to the Constitutions.

His arms are crossed while he sleeps, forming a gesture understood to signify humility.

In a contemporary sermon by Fra Roberto Caracciolo da Lecce the meaning of this pose as an imitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary is explained:

"…Lifting her eyes to heaven, and bringing up her hands with her arms in the form of a cross, she ended as God, the Angels and the Holy Fathers desired: “Be it unto me according to thy word.” Quoted in Michael Baxandall, Painting and Experience in Fifteenth Century Italy, Oxford University Press, Oxford and New York, 1988, p. 51.

The Virgin, through her humility and acceptance of the divine will, served as a model of obedience for the monks.

Paolo Morachiello has pointed out:

"Observants not only considered the Virgin to be the first and perfect example of the apostolate but also saw her as their inspiration and model." (Paolo Morachiello in Fra Angelico: The San Marco Frescoes, Thames and Hudson, London 1996, p. 270.)

Beato Fra Angelico (Guido di Pietro)

1400-1455

Death of the Virgin 1433-34

Tempera on wood

23 x 14 cm

Museo Diocesano, Cortona

As in life, The Beato has the bare minimum of earthly possessions with him in the tomb. It is he alone awaiting Christ.

Vasari in his Lives of the Artists has this to say of the Beato;

"He was most kind and sober, keeping himself free from all worldly ties, often saying that he who practised art had need of quiet and to be able to live without cares, and that he who represents the things of Christ should always live with Christ. He was never seen in anger by the friars, which is a great thing, and seems to me almost impossible to believe; and he had a way of admonishing his friends with smiles.

To those who sought his works he would answer, that they must content the prior, and then he would not fail.

To sum up, this father, who can never be enough praised, was in all his works and words most humble and modest, and in his paintings facile and devout; and the saints whom he painted have more the air and likeness of saints than those of any one else. It was his habit never to retouch or alter any of his paintings, but to leave them as they came the first time, believing, as he said, that such was the will of God. Some say he would never take up his pencil until he had first made supplication, and he never made a crucifix but he was bathed in tears."

Three years after his death the Dominican poet Fra Domenico da Corella said of the Beato: "Rich in skill and unerring in religion"

Fra Angelico has two epitaphs on his tomb.

The first seems to have been composed by the cleric and humanist Lorenzo Valla (1405 or 1407 – 1457). It states;

"The glory, the mirror, the ornament of painters, John the Florentine is preserved in this place. A religious, he was a brother of the Holy Order of Saint Dominic and he was himself a true servant of God. His pupils greatly mourn the death of such a great teacher because who will find another draughtsman as he ? His homeland and his order mourn the death of such a distinguished painter who had no equal in his art."

The first epitaph seems out of place with the sculpture of Fra Angelico on his tomb. Perhaps however it indicates how the cult of saintliness in some circles was then linked to the pride of one`s homeland and the desire for fame and boasting of the achievements of "one`s own". It seems a bit out of place when remembering the humble friar.

The second epitaph is perhaps more appropriate and more consistent with correct attitudes about what constitutes sanctity. it is the epitaph which is better known.

"Every genuine artistic intuition goes beyond what the senses perceive and, reaching beneath reality's surface, strives to interpret its hidden mystery. The intuition itself springs from the depths of the human soul, where the desire to give meaning to one's own life is joined by the fleeting vision of beauty and of the mysterious unity of things.

All artists experience the unbridgeable gap which lies between the work of their hands, however successful it may be, and the dazzling perfection of the beauty glimpsed in the ardour of the creative moment: what they manage to express in their painting, their sculpting, their creating is no more than a glimmer of the splendour which flared for a moment before the eyes of their spirit.

Believers find nothing strange in this: they know that they have had a momentary glimpse of the abyss of light which has its original wellspring in God. Is it in any way surprising that this leaves the spirit overwhelmed as it were, so that it can only stammer in reply?

True artists above all are ready to acknowledge their limits and to make their own the words of the Apostle Paul, according to whom “God does not dwell in shrines made by human hands” so that “we ought not to think that the Deity is like gold or silver or stone, a representation by human art and imagination” (Acts 17:24, 29). If the intimate reality of things is always “beyond” the powers of human perception, how much more so is God in the depths of his unfathomable mystery!

The knowledge conferred by faith is of a different kind: it presupposes a personal encounter with God in Jesus Christ.

Yet this knowledge too can be enriched by artistic intuition. An eloquent example of aesthetic contemplation sublimated in faith are, for example, the works of Fra Angelico."

The monastery of San Marco in Florence, which the Beato decorated and where he prayed and painted is an extraordinary place, an experience. This was not intended to be a museum or art gallery. It was to be a place alive with deep prayer and contemplation.

Walking up the stairs one is confronted by an angel with multicolored wings, announcing momentous news to Mary, and the beginning of the Incarnation

One also comes to scenes special to the Dominican order. St Dominic adoring the Crucifixion is depicted more than once. St Dominic had a special devotion to the Crucifixion. St. Dominic is shown embracing the base of the Cross—the blood of the Saviour trickling onto his hands. This image urged the monks to follow by example.

An inscription at the base of one of the Crucifixion scenes encourages the brothers to embrace Christ’s suffering in the same manner as their founder:

O saviour of the world, accept my salutations, accept them, Oh Dear Jesus; I want to rise on your cross, and know the reason; therefore give me the force to do so.

Further on one comes to the individual cells in which one can seclude yourself. Each cell contains a frescoed wall painted by Fra Angelico to aid the monks' prayers and life. One is alone in a landscape in which Jesus comes and goes, as if entering the very place where one sits, contemplates and prays.

Beato Fra Angelico (Guido di Pietro)

1400-1455

The Annunciation1450

Fresco, 230 x 321 cm

Convento di San Marco, Florence

Beato Fra Angelico (Guido di Pietro)

1400-1455

Saint Dominic Adoring the Crucifixion

1440s

Fresco, 340 x 155 cm

Northern corridor, Convento di San Marco, Florence

Beato Fra Angelico (Guido di Pietro)

1400-1455

Transfiguration

1440-41

Fresco, 193 x 164 cm

Cell 6, Convento di San Marco, Florence

As well as the Apostles, on either side, stand the Virgin and St Dominic in positions indicative of prayer. The heads of Moses and Elias appear beneath the arms of Christ.

Now we see the place empty apart from the frescoes. What were the cells like when the place with filled with friars ?

Perhaps we can get an inkling from a small panel painted by Friar Angelico which was part of The San Marco Altarpiece (1438-40). The Altarpiece was removed and dismembered in the seventeenth century during the renovation of the church belonging to the Convent of San Marco and dedicated to the two medical saints, Cosmas and Damian.

In the scene below, the Deacon Justinian sleeps while Sts Cosmas and Damian enter his chamber trailing patches of soft cloud. They replace his corrupted and gangraneous leg with a healthy one. Note the swags of curtain, the hard bed, the container hanging from a nail on the side of the bed, the glass and decanter, the slippers and the simple three-legged stool. No carpets or rugs. A simple life with few possessions. Friars were supposed to travel light through life.